Systematics and species

Jays are not a monophyletic group. Anatomical and molecular evidence indicates they can be divided into an American and an Old World lineage (the latter including the ground jays and the piapiac), while the gray jays of the genus Perisoreus form a group of their own.[1] The black magpie, formerly believed to be related to jays, is classified as a treepie. The crested jay (Platylophus galericulatus) is traditionally placed here, but its placement remains unresolved; it does not seem to be a corvid at all.[1]

In culture

Slang

The word jay has an archaic meaning in American slang meaning a person who chatters impertinently.[2][3]

The term jaywalking was coined in 1915 to label persons crossing a busy street carelessly and becoming a traffic hazard.[4] The term began to imply recklessness or impertinent behavior as the convention became established.[5]

In January 2014, Canadian author Robert Joseph Greene embarked on a lobbying campaign among ornithologists in Europe and North America to get Merriam-Websters Dictionary to have a "Jabber of Jays" as an official term under bird groups.[6][7]